Opening doors Literacy brings opportunities By Ainsley Rubbert Volunteer Beverly Clifton offers more than reading and writing assistance as she helps two adult students sharpen their literacy skills. She also offers support, encouragement and the willingness to listen. “It becomes a very personal relationship between tutor and student. It’s almost like it becomes a family thing,” says Clifton, a volunteer with the Fox Valley Literacy Coalition. “You ultimately become a life coach for them. When they have a need or want to accomplish something or they just need to talk to someone, they talk to us.” Important step For adults learning to read or improving their reading skills, literacy is a building block to better opportunities and stronger community participation. It becomes a key to learning new technology, and improving their chances of succeeding in the workforce. “The 21st century demands people who can not only read, write, speak and listen well, but understand,” notes Susan Traska, executive director of the Winnebago County Literacy Council. “Through that understanding progress is possible and through that progress the entire community is bettered.” The need for literacy services is felt throughout Northeast Wisconsin. More than 12,000 residents in Outagamie County alone lack literacy skills, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. “Literacy education is as essential and vital to a community as roads and highways,” Traska says. “Reading has the ability to take you places both tangibly and through your imagination, but without the proper equipment and training, it can be very difficult to get there.” Here to help Organizations such as the Fox Valley Literacy Coalition, Literacy Green Bay and the Winnebago County Literacy Council offer assistance with reading, writing and navigating society through tutors who help students feel empowered to be more active in their community, workplace and even their family. In September the Fox Valley Literacy Coalition celebrated 20 years of serving its mission, which is “to improve people’s lives and build community by providing and coordinating literacy services.” Together with its partner program, Literacy Education Services, it provides services and resources to address the literacy skills of adults in the Fox Valley. “We fill a gap in need,” says Christine Cheevers, executive director of the Fox Valley Literacy Coalition. “We serve the client who is looking for one-on-one tutoring; the student who is not ready for classes yet.”
Basic skills needed Adult learners typically fall into two groups. The first group is students who are native English speakers who have not developed basic reading, writing, or math skills. “Who we see come through here are adults who have graduated from high school and who still can’t read and write at an adult level,” says Karen Schilt, program and volunteer coordinator at the Fox Valley Literacy Coalition. There are various reasons why some adults lack the adult level literacy skills. Some may have completed high school, but have learning disabilities or slipped through the cracks of the educational system, never fully mastering the necessary skills. Others, for various reasons, never completed high school or received their GED. “In public schools there is a growing demand for teachers’ attention and there are kids who slip through the cracks and these kids go on to become adults,” adds Schilt. Learning English The second group of adult learners is non-native English speakers. These individuals are learning English as a second language and find themselves isolated from those who can speak English. “We help them break out of the isolation of not knowing the language and have them work oneon-one with the tutor who helps them advance from knowing very little or no English at all, to becoming proficient in speaking and reading the language,” says Cheevers. Each learner has different goals ranging from wanting to get a driver’s license and taking the citizenship exam to fine-tuning their skills to communicate in English in a clear and effective manner. “Sometimes their tutor is the only person in the United States that they are able to converse with,” Clifton says. “(Learning English) brings people back out into the community and helps them become better members of the community.” Improving employment options The current economic climate has created a competitive job market, displacing many workers who once were able to hold jobs and provide for their families regardless of their educational background. Trask notes that unemployment rates increase as literacy skills decrease, and that 43 percent of adults with very low literacy skills live in poverty, according to the National Institute for Literacy. “During this downturn in the economy we have seen a lot of people coming through because employers can be very picky now,” says Schilt. “If you don’t have that GED, if you’re not marketable, if you’re not up on your computer skills, then there are 500 other people in line who are.” Improving literacy skills not only enhances the lives of students, but also cultivates better relationships within the community.
“Our program is a helping hand to people,” says Cheevers. “It helps break people out of isolation. We help them achieve their goals so they can become better employees, better parents, and better members of the community.” Ainsley Rubbert is a freelance writer from Oshkosh.